The invention relates to a switching device, especially a miniature circuit breaker or a residual current circuit breaker, comprising a housing and switching contacts for closing and/or opening at least one circuit, with a tripping apparatus for automatically disconnecting the switching contacts being provided, with the housing having at least one front side.
Switching devices, especially circuit breakers such as miniature circuit breakers and/or residual current circuit breakers, are known which are sold and applied with substantially the same functionality in many countries of the earth. Such switching devices have the same identical interior configuration in a large number of countries. However, the local regulations differ in many countries concerning the necessary labeling of a switching device. It may be necessary in country A to provide certain forms of labeling in the form of imprints on the switching device, whereas in country B it is necessary to have other markings which must be arranged not in the form of an imprint but in the form of a relief incorporated in the switching device. It is further known to purchase switching devices from third-party makers or to sell the same to third-party suppliers. In this case it is necessary to adjust the switching device not only to the firm's name concerning the firm's labeling, but the configuration of the switching device is to be adjusted to the configuration of the other switching devices of said third-party firm.
It was therefore necessary to date to produce switching devices with separate housings for each market or for each third-party supplier. Since the housings for switching devices such as miniature circuit breakers or residual current circuit breakers are arranged in a very complex way due to the necessary functionality and especially have a very complex arranged interior configuration, the necessary injection-molding and extruder molds are very complex and expensive and the production of a new mold takes a long time. This leads to high costs in the production of different housing shapes and for stocking different housing shapes. This also reduces the producer's flexibility, who needs to use different housings for each market. The complex production of the housing which requires a long period of time can occur only very slowly and with long delays to customers' requirements and to new or changed markets.